Current Conditions

Clear Lake is currently sitting at about .5 feet Rumsey! In a week it is dropping about .15 foot so roughly around the first of September the lake should be at 0. We will see a negative Rumsey reading early this September. Kind of interesting but the lake measured .53 feet this past January. Clear Lake has not measured a negative Rumsey number since 1977 when it sunk to -3.39. The prior year, 1976 posted a low of -.60. Outside of those two years of the last big drought you have to go back to 1950 to find another recorded negative low of -.135.

Water clarity is amazingly good over the majority of the lake. A friend called me several weeks back asking about the conditions due to a story he saw on his local TV news about how bad the algae had gotten. Yesterday on the main lake the water color was clear to about 4 feet and very good in all three arms of the lake. Water temperature was 77 to 78 in the same areas.

Weeds are not much of an issue overall, strangely. Not sure what the deal is with them but they are disappearing at a rapid rate. Algae blooms as well have been down meaning a whole lot less time cleaning the green off of the reels. The answer has been the same to everyone who has called, texted, or emailed me about the conditions, quit worrying and get here, it is the nicest I have seen it for this time of year in years.

Launching?

The main public launching areas include; Redbud, Clearlake Oakes, Lakeside County Park, and 3rd & 5th Street in Lakeport, they are and will remain usable. More than likely the Konocti Vista Casino ramp will remain usable, the question will be the depth of the exit to the lake. Questionable are the State Park and Braito's. To my way of thinking the State Park may be usable without enough depth to get to the lake and conversely Braito's may have the access to the lake but the ramp will be real dicey.

The Bite

Let's be honest, the bite here is not what it used to be, I have only experienced one 30 fish day this year. Having that said, the average fish size is good, most are over 3 pounds with a handful in the 4 pound plus range. On a good day we are catching 10 to 12 fish and seeing one or two in the 5 pound + range up to 7. Many days we are putting together 18 to 22 pound limits.

The past month top water baits including Ricos and buzz baits have accounted for some good days with one client putting together a 27 pound bag. Another day using a mix of blade baits and topwater we scrounged together a 30 pound bag but those have been exceptional days. Number wise our best day was 27 fish on a good top water day.

Due to the lower lake level the docks in Lakeport have been a tough deal which is really a “go to” area when the wind doesn't cooperate.

We are starting to mess around looking for the fall catfish bite but it isn't really kicked in like we enjoy yet. Every day we look for them we catch some, but just not enough to make it interesting....yet.

If you want a good one, stay on top

Make Some Lemonade

The bad news about severe water fluctuation in our foothill reservoirs is that it really messes with the spawn. The good news is everyone has the opportunity to really zone in on key structural components that they may have looked at with their boat's electronics but might not completely understand what they see. Low water and BAM, look at it up on the bank and really understand not only what it looks like but understand how your particular unit is displaying it.

There are days when I have completely bailed out a struggling day by knowing where a certain rock is located off to the side of a dock or a pair of pilings or old pier that is underwater and out of sight. 6 or 7 little deals like that and all of a sudden I am back in the game! Now is the time to be looking and documenting where you find that stuff. Maybe it is not worth your time to look at the whole lake the way I need to but you sure should look at the areas you like to fish to identify little oddball features you didn't now were there, it will pay off in the future when the water comes back up. A little work now will pay dividends later. Even as much time as I have spent on the water here I continually find new stuff, just by looking in either super clear water conditions or the super low water conditions we have right now.

Power Pro Slick

I have been using 15lb Slick on a spinning rod for senkos since about the first of May. As most of you know I am a huge fan of the standard Power Pro braid so I thought I would try the slick just for grins and giggles.

Up front, I am not sure that the benefits in features outweigh the added expense of 30% at retail but time will tell. It is quieter going through the guides (to me neither a + or a -). It seems to hold its shape longer (potentially a + for using lighter pound tests on a baitcaster). For some odd reason it seems to be holding the color longer (in my case, yellow, to me a +). No trouble with knots or durability so far (a wash). Casting distance suffers a bit (a -).

Overall my impressions are pretty good and I think it may find a home on my square bill and popper rods that are bait casters.

On Face Book

For those of you who are Face Bookers, hopefully you are seeing our posts about fishing trips. If you are interested in how the fishing was yesterday, if I was out, it will be posted that afternoon. Interested in something I am not covering? Let me know. I guess stop by and Like our page too, I don't know why, it is just what everyone asks?!

BTW, there is another Ross England (heaven forbid) who messes around on FB. The only page that I use is Clear Lake Guide Service, just an FYI.

Web Page

If you have not looked at our web page in a while check out the updated slide show that covers the first half of 2014 and a short video of some sight fishing results. I also made a change in the way the booking calendar shows available days so those of you who want to book on short notice can see my availability as little as two days out.

Bookings

We unfortunately missed out on some trips during our recent break away to the wilds of Idaho but 2014 remains strong. The ranking of the lake has made it a bucket list item for a lot of anglers from across the country and world, of course those of you who fish here often already know why!

Closing

Thank you for your continued interest and support of Clear Lake Guide Service! Our business continues to grow with the help of you and your spreading the word and my wife Deb and I both thank you, Lil Gracie dog too. Good fishing, stay in touch, and keep a tight line.

Miss an Issue of the Clear Lake Report?

We have archived all of our past Clear Lake Report Issues on our Clear Lake Fishing Guide Service website! Go to our Clear Lake Fishing Report Index!

There is a lot of useful information available on the Clear Lake Website. Even insights into the best times to fish the lake and other fishing tips. Local lodging, weather, and even lake level reporting is available through the links we have set up.

Good fishing, and I look forward to seeing you soon!